How Guillaume Canet will shoot his next film in Saint-Céré, in the Lot

It was a well-kept secret… For a month, technicians specializing in cinema have been busy in the convent of the Visitation, in Saint-Céré. A joyful, muffled effervescence. Here, the mobilized team is preparing the sets for Guillaume Canet's next film. Because the director, who is currently promoting his latest film Ad Vitam, has chosen the Lot to host the shooting of his next film which could be called “Karma”. The scouting was carried out with the utmost confidentiality last December. The production company sent managers and location scouts in December to approach several hotels, local service providers and restaurateurs in order to accommodate the entire film crew, from March to May. ” Filming should begin at the end of March and last until the middle of May. Two castings were carried out, one for children, another for adults. These auditions which aim to find professional actors took place last year,” says Sandrine Routtier, responsible for hosting filming in Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne.

In December, this casting announcement was published on the website of the Occitanie film commission. “As part of the filming of a feature film which will be shot in the Lot, the production company Iconoclast Films is looking for small roles. Actresses and actors residing in the Lot are preferably sought,” the message indicated. We now know that this feature film will be directed by Guillaume Canet. According to our information, few extras were recruited for the film. “It is a feature film which should take place in isolation, without a crowd scene. The majority of the filming takes place in the convent of Saint-Céré, few scenes are planned outside this convent, in the Lot”, points out Sandrine Routtier. She specifies: “Original and strange settings, let’s say out of the ordinary, were spotted by the production outside of Saint-Céré and could also accommodate these few scenes.”

Marion Cotillard headlining?

Part of the filming should take place in Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, in Corrèze where the production team is, according to our sources, interested in small houses and old buildings. Several dozen technicians, notably decorators, have already taken possession of the 1710 convent in Saint-Céré, currently for sale. The remarkable site has 60 rooms including 50 bedrooms. It consists of a chapel, several wings which form the convent, a cloister, a dwelling house, a wooded park with a small chapel and a cemetery, all surrounded by a stone wall of more than 2 m. All just 500 m from the city center. Most of the technicians involved in the filming come from the Lot. “The production company played the game of hiring technicians on site. Others come from the region,” notes the reception manager.

Regarding the story, it is impossible to know more. “It’s too early to communicate,” the production company Iconoclast films told us. Elements suggest that the feature film will give pride of place to history. Nothing to do at first glance, with the atmosphere of Les Petits mouchoirs. In any case, rumors already announce Marion Cotillard in one of the main roles…